Buffalo Rising Online

Last week I was on Hertel and decided to duck into a restaurant for a bite. Bertha’s Diner is located right next to the North Park Theatre and offers the neighborhood a casual atmosphere in which to enjoy breakfast or lunch.

Bertha’s is a 50s style diner with a menu that reads like a little piece of Buffalo. The photo above is of a mural that decorates one of the restaurant's back walls. Sure you can have classics like an omelet or a good old tuna melt, but Buffalo favorites like home fries, Italian sausage and fried bologna steaks also make an appearance. I associate the prices with Buffalo as well, a city rich with affordable food. A burger and fries will run you $2.95. Eggs, home fries and toast won’t break the bank either, weighing in at less than $3. There are some pricier items as well, the Italian sausage with Swiss, onions and peppers (known as the Marlon Br…

The April issue of BRM features an article about a dinner BR recently organized. A number of local chefs and restaurateurs were invited to partake in one another’s company, conversation and cooking.

Trudy Stern from Tru-Teas brought a lovely dish, a colorful display of watermelon, cheese and olives. Perhaps to some this an unusual combination, but I assure you it was delicious and very refreshing. Trudy tells me that she generally serves it as a salad, but for convenience sake chose to serve it on skewers. It was so good that I served it to some guests last week. I also placed it on skewers, and I suggest that if you choose to do the same that you make certain to use the right kind of feta (which is very firm) and cut it into rather large cubes as it’s texture can make it difficult to place on a skewer.

She also shared a lovely drink with us- a Hibiscus Mimosa with ca…

WHEN: Monday, April 9, 2007, 5 p.m. till ????

WHERE: Buffalo Central Terminal, 495 Paderewski Drive, Buffalo, N.Y.

For almost 50 years Buffalo gals have snapped off pussywillow branches in hopes of ‘smacking’ a young suitor, while Buffalo men have loaded plastic pistols with water, armed and ready to ‘haul in’ a young maiden. This year the tradition continues where it left off 20 years ago, at the Buffalo Central Terminal.

On Monday, April 9 from 5 p.m. until the late evening, the Terminal will welcome enthusiasts young and old to celebrate Polish tradition on Buffalo’s East Side. The Terminal was chosen as a site for the party partially because of the success it has had with events in the past year such as Buffalo Brewfest and the Halloween Bash, as well as because of the will of Terminal directors such as Russell Pawlek, to pro…

About six months ago, The Steer began offering drinks made the old fashioned way. Muddled, mixed, shaken and stirred, fresh ingredients are assembled into refreshing cocktails. In April’s issue of BRM, Charlie Tripi, bartender and manager at The Steer, shared a few great recipes with us. Two of them, the Old Fashioned and the Strawberry Mojito use a technique known as muddling.

A muddler, a small wooden baton, is employed to smash, twist and infuse various ingredients together in the bottom of the glass before the ice and liquid are added. Unlike martinis and cosmos, the muddled beverage is shaken, but not strained. The ice, as well as the divine muddle, remains in the glass. This not only develops a fuller, rounder flavor in the cocktail, but provides the drinker with a bite or two of sweet fruit at the bottom of their glass.

Our favorite of the recipes is the Strawberry…

A few months ago, we at Buffalo Rising began to mull over the idea of having a round table meeting with area chefs and restaurateurs. Our goal was to provide the opportunity for chefs and restaurant owners to talk to others who walk paths similar to their own.

Better yet, what if it was a potluck? Most chefs love to cook for each other; it’s an opportunity to demonstrate their skills and ideas to their peers, made better by the sounds of said peers smacking their lips.

Sam and Helen of Ming Café generously offered their quaint and lovely restaurant for the evening, closing the doors to their loyal customer base (though we did have a few diehards sneaking in for some last minute takeout). Our guests arrived, plates, food and bottles in hand. It was only a few minutes before this group, largely comprised of strangers, fell into step with one another, talking about the current…

Open for just a few short weeks in the former home of the venerable Tsunami, Torches has already developed a good buzz. With no advertising or formal announcement, the word of their opening, menu and quality of service quickly spread throughout the culinary community. This excitement led to a steady flow of curious and hungry guests within the first week.

The outside of the building hasn’t been altered much with the exception of a few blazing torches trimming the roofline and a forged metal sign which spells out the establishment’s name. The interior, on the other hand, has changed quite a bit. As you move from the foyer into the waiting area, you enter a wide corridor with a banquette and a few small slate tables running along the right side of the wall. This little row of seats provides both a nice alternative to the typical waiting area at a restaurant and a simple spac…

As many of our regular readers know, our new offices are in the Cobblestone Lofts near the HSBC Arena. We love our space and particularly enjoy being part of downtown life on a daily basis.

Our lunchtime adventures have been augmented by our new location. On Friday’s we make the trip up to Kuni’s on Lexington, but during the rest of the week, we explore many of our neighborhood hotspots. Thus far we’ve hit Milo’s, Swannie House, McCarthy’s, the Larkin Building and most recently, Sharkey’s Cafe.

Sharkey’s is like many of our neighborhood bars, and really succeeds at providing a nice menu, a bright, clean atmosphere and a friendly staff.

Our lunchers ordered a tuna sandwich with hot peppers ($3.25), a grilled cheese on rye with tomato ($2.50), a bacon burger ($4.25), and a Whistle Pig ($3.25). For those of you that haven’t had a Whistle Pig- a hot dog split d…

It's just too bad that you can't get this dish seven days a week. When I saw my friend order it a couple days ago I stared in amazement at the beautiful dish. I don't think I had ever seen anything so visually appetizing... that was also healthy. Even though I had a much-anticipated meal sitting before me I could not help but inquire about the different fruits, grains, etc.

Then I went as far as to send Roo Buckley, Chef/Owner of Coda Restaurant a request for information regarding the ingredients and where they come from. I also wanted some added info on their flavored butters and addictive coffee. He was kind enough to reply:

The Yougurt and Granola is made with Guercio’s Blend of Granola, the best I’ve found.

Drizzled with a little bit…

Driving down South Park Avenue en route to the Botanical Gardens, Pete-n-Paul’s catches your eye as the kind of place that has a secret. The booths are full, the parking lot is crowded, something good must be going on inside. That little secret is a surprisingly extensive menu, cheap prices, and a team of people that really want you to enjoy your visit.

Gary Gerber has owned and run Pete-n-Paul’s for the past 13 years, although the restaurant has been around since 1981. His house specialty is the pita pocket sandwich, served on Father Sam’s soft, chewy pita bread. While the chicken finger pocket emerges as the restaurant’s most popular, some of the less traditional fillings include beef stroganoff and chicken stir fry. I went for the Italian Sausage, myself. The sausage patties were spicy, the onions and peppers caramelized and sweet. A side of Paul’s Sauce tied it all…

OK, how come these things weren't around when I was in college? Who know, maybe they were... just not anywhere I ever ventured to. Times change, and with time so does the way people drink beer. The first time I ever walked into Pearl Street Grill & Brewery and saw these beer tubes I was stoked. Unfortunately I did not have my camera with me, so this past Friday we went back to capture the 'amazingness' on film. Fortunately we found some early afternoon beer drinkers who were just finishing a 100 ounce tube of Pearl Street Train Wreck. That's 100 ounces served right to your table where all of a sudden you (the customer) takes over. Yup, you become your own ‘beertender’.

The closest thing that I ever got to this type of self-service was at Brick Bar when the bartender would (the old days) uncap a case of OV splits, dump some ice into the case, and hand it to you over the bar.…

Up until now the only slider I have ever tried (and heard of) was a White Castle slider. And I'll tell you that it was not a great culinary experience. That's why I was so surprised to see that Prespa was serving up sliders on their new menu. Yes, Prespa is serving up dinners again... and boy did they nail it this time. Hey, I even enjoyed their previous menu, but this one is really superb.

Featured above is the tenderloin slider plate. For $15 it can be yours, and it should be yours, because it's one of the best bar food selections in the city. These petite filet mignon sandwiches are beyond tender. They retain their juices like nobody's business, and the outside is grilled just enough to add a perfectly seared flavor. Talk about melting in your mouth... these sliders have raised the bar when it comes to bar food. And the buns are soft and easy to eat. Plus, there are four of …

Pork and green chile is a Mexican dish that has, like many other delicious Mexican recipes, made its way up into the American southwest. This is nothing like “chili”, our beef and bean laden friend, but rather a pork stew, augmented by various ingredients and mild green chiles. It is very flavorful, but don’t let the word “chile” lead you to believe that this is an experience requiring a fire extinguisher.

Unfortunately, we arguably don’t see Mexican or Southwestern cuisine in Buffalo very often, particularly done well. But that is not the case here.

At Empire Grill, Chef Dino DeBell serves up piping hot bowls of Colorado Pork and Green Chile with a soft flour tortilla on the side. Chef hails from the Denver area, and has a firm grasp on what a bowl of this mild, rich dish should taste like.

At Empire, a copious amount of tender shredded pork and soft cubes o…